National Bank of Canada (OTCMKTS:NTIOF) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell sharply: National Bank of Canada’s short interest declined 34.3% to 3.72 million shares as of October 15, representing about 1.0% of shares outstanding. The short-interest ratio remains high at 68 days based on average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Three analysts rate the stock a Buy and five rate it a Hold, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating. Recent changes included upgrades from National Bank Financial and a downgrade from Desjardins.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: The bank reported earnings of $2.43 per share versus the $2.32 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $2.89 billion compared with expectations of $2.75 billion.

National Bank of Canada (OTCMKTS:NTIOF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,721,380 shares, a decrease of 34.3% from the September 30th total of 5,666,222 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 54,737 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 68.0 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company's stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on NTIOF shares. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of National Bank of Canada in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of National Bank of Canada in a report on Thursday, August 27th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of National Bank of Canada in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. National Bank Financial raised shares of National Bank of Canada from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Desjardins lowered shares of National Bank of Canada from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Bank of Canada

A hedge fund recently bought a new position in National Bank of Canada stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of National Bank of Canada (OTCMKTS:NTIOF - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 63,587 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,825,000. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of National Bank of Canada stock opened at $150.45 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $57.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.85. National Bank of Canada has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $171.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $148.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.62.

National Bank of Canada (OTCMKTS:NTIOF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.11. National Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 16.67% and a net margin of 17.22%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that National Bank of Canada will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

National Bank of Canada Company Profile

National Bank of Canada is a Canadian financial institution headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1859, the bank provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional clients and governments.

Its activities include personal and commercial banking, wealth management, investment banking, securities brokerage, financial markets and specialized finance. Products and services include deposit accounts, mortgages, consumer and business loans, credit facilities, investment products, portfolio management, financial planning, capital-markets advisory and trading services.

National Bank primarily serves customers across Quebec and other Canadian provinces through its banking and wealth-management operations.

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